Nissan chief creative officer Shiro Nakamura told Automotive News that work is underway on making a more fuel efficient, better proportioned GT-R, in an interview published Monday. Nakamura-san dropped very strong hints that the R36 GT-R will be a hybrid because Nissan wants to boost efficiency and performance over the current car.

"Electrification is almost inevitable for any car," said Nakamura-san. "If the next-generation GT-R has some electrification, nobody would be surprised at that time."

It's not difficult to imagine Nissan taking a similar approach as McLaren with its P1, which uses a torquey electric motor to compensate for the lag of its heavily turbocharged V8. It's also worth noting that the GT-Rs chief Japanese rival, the Acura NSX, has embraced hybridization.

Nakamura-san also says the next GT-R will look fairly different than its predecessor, all in the service of better performance.

"I think we can change to better proportions–the width, the height," said Nakamura-san. "Anything that we change on this car will contribute to better performance, better aero."

There is still a chance the next GT-R won't be a hybrid, but we'd frankly be surprised if that were the case. We'll know for sure in around three years or so, if not sooner.

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